Articles On Tap:

Contact Us

Red Sox Season Hits a Speed Bump

The Red Sox have dropped six out of their last eight
games, were swept over the weekend by the lowly Tampa Bay Rays, and have lost 4
½ games off their AL East lead in the past eight days.Is it time to panic, Red Sox Nation?All this, and more, in this week’s BSoT Red Sox Column to be Named Later.

Photo courtesy of overthemonster.com

Natural
Correction

Did we really think the Red Sox were going to play
.700 ball for the entire season?While
they have been played at that lofty pace prior to this past week, the team
still had glaring weaknesses which, if left unaddressed over the course of a
162 game season, would certain to be exposed at some point.When looking at the lower third of the
lineup, the back end of the rotation, and the middle relief corps, it was clear
that the Red Sox have been fortunate to be where they are, and it was only a
matter of time before the bounces started to go against them.

It is one thing to lose to a good team, as the Red Sox
did earlier this week in the first two games against the Indians.It is another thing to lose to a bad team
(albeit one who is on a roll at the moment) in the Tampa Bay Rays.And it is yet another thing to get spanked in
three straight games by a team that was 22 ½ games behind you coming into the
weekend.

With Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez still on the
disabled list, the Red Sox lack of depth at starting pitcher has suddenly been
exposed.Nathan Eovaldi, lights out in
his first two starts in a Red Sox uniform, has suddenly become Joe Kelly 2.0.Rick Porcello continues to show occasional flashes
of his Cy Young form from two years ago, but recently has been bitten by the home
run at inopportune moments.Brian
Johnson and Hector Velazquez turned in quality performance when pressed into
spot starts earlier in the season, but the clock has struck midnight on both of
them as well.Who would have thought
earlier this season that David Price would be looked upon as the Red Sox
ace?That’s how crazy this game can be
at times.

With starting pitching (other than Price) unable to go
deep into games, it was inevitable that a weak bullpen would be exposed at some
point.The Red Sox bullpen has been
unable to keep the score close in games in which the starters have exited early
during this recent slide, and still no one in the bullpen has separated himself
from an otherwise underwhelming bunch.Right now the most reliable contributor has been journeyman Ryan Brasier,
which should give some indication on the overall state of the bullpen.

Of course, the offense is not without their shame of the
blame pie.Despite the weaknesses at the
end of the lineup (Bradley, the catchers and second basemen), the Red Sox are at
or near the top of the league in virtually all offensive categories.The offense has made up for the faltering
pitching staff more often than not this season, and is one of the primary
reasons the Red Sox have already reached 90 wins before the calendar hits
September.

The offense has been led by the dynamic duo of Mookie
Betts and J.D. Martinez.Betts has been
electric in the leadoff role and Martinez has been everything he was advertised
to be, and more, when signed in the offseason.Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts and Mitch Moreland have each been
major contributors, but it has been the Mookie and J.D. show all season.While Martinez has not endured anything
remotely resembling a slump since the beginning of the regular season, Betts
has cooled off considerably in the second half.It is no coincidence that the Red Sox offensive woes have coincided with
Betts struggles at the plate.

Betts has not been getting on base leading off games
since the All-Star Break, which has led to the Red Sox not putting instant
pressure on opponents right from the start.His power numbers have also declined significantly as the season wears
on.Without Betts wreaking havoc on the
basepaths, the offense has gone flat, and, similar to the bullpen, the
weaknesses in other parts of the lineup have been exposed.

Despite the doom and gloom of the past week, there are
some bright spots on the horizon.Sale
will begin a throwing program which should return him to the rotation for the
stretch drive.Rodriguez will also soon
be headed out on a rehab assignment with the goal of returning him to the
rotation.If both are fully healthy by
the playoffs, and Price remains healthy and pitching effectively, the dynamic
of the pitching staff changes drastically.The Red Sox simply need to weather this storm so they can get their
house in order for October.

Sticking
to the Plan

Manager Alex Cora made an interesting decision to rest
both J.D. Martinez and Andrew Benintendi in Sunday’s finale against the Rays,
despite the team having lost the first two games of the series and facing lefty
ace Blake Snell.Though the timing was
suspect given the circumstances, this is not a surprise given the Red Sox off
day on Monday.Cora has routinely rested
players in the final games of series before off days, thus giving them two full
days rest.The theory is to keep players
fresh for the long season and beyond, and it has generally worked so far.Give Cora credit for not panicking after two
losses to the Rays and staying with his approach.

Between Martinez and Benintendi, you may have thought
it made sense to sit Benintendi, but wondered why Martinez didn’t play against
the tough lefthander.Surprising,
Benintendi has far better numbers against Snell, despite the left on left
matchup.Benintendi has a career slash
line of .333/.364/.333 against Snell, while Martinez checks in with only
.143/.250/.286.It’s doubtful either
would have made a difference Sunday, as Snell was on top of his game, limiting
the rest of the Red Sox lineup to only two hits over six innings.

Photo courtesy of pinterest.com

Clothes
Don’t Make the Man

If the MLB holds Player’s Weekend again next year, the
Red Sox should decide to opt out.Last
year, the Sox were swept by the Orioles in the inaugural event.After getting swept by the Rays over the
weekend, the Sox are now 0-6 Player’s Weekends and have been outscored by a
whopping 49-9.When next year’s jerseys
get delivered, Chris Sale needs to get out his best pair of scissors and have a
field day.

Who’s
Trending Up

J.D. Martinez continued his assault on the Triple
Crown, batting .440 over the past week, though he did fail to homer over that
stretch and has fallen behind Oakland's Khris Davis for the AL lead.

Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley, Jr. also had
productive weeks with slash lines of .323/.323/.581 and .318/.318/.455
respectively.

David Price was the lone real bright spot on the
pitching staff, going eight strong innings and allowing no earned runs in a
crucial series finale win over the Indians.

Who’s
Trending Down

Mookie Betts (.222/.290/.259) was not the only member
of the Red Sox offense to hit on tough times last week.Andrew Benintendi (.208/.321/.292) was not
able to offset Betts drop in production, which contributed to Martinez
pedestrian total of four RBI for the week.And bringing up the rear once again this week is Sandy Leon (.071 – one hit
in 14 AB).Leon also has issues with
passed balls behind the plate, putting even more pressure on Red Sox pitching.

The Red Sox bullpen as a whole allowed 19 hits, walked 12, and allowed four
home runs in 23 2/3 innings pitched last week.

A
Look Ahead

After a much needed day off Monday to regroup, the Red
Sox come home to Fenway for a quick two game set against the NL East cellar
dwelling Miami Marlins, before heading to Chicago for a four game set against
the White Sox.While neither of these
teams may get much interest, there is one intriguing matchup to look to over
the weekend.

The White Sox have recently called up former Red Sox
farmhand Michael Kopech from the minors and have inserted him into their
starting rotation.In two starts, Kopech
has allowed only one run in two starts (eight innings pitched), logging eight
strikeouts against zero walks.Kopech,
acquired by the White Sox as part of the Chris Sale deal, is part of the
continuing trend of starting pitchers who routinely touch 100 on the radar gun.With his last start coming yesterday against
Detroit, Kopech is on track to face his former team over the weekend.

Follow Bill on Twitter @BTravers_BSoT.

Questions, comments, or ideas for the weekly podcast?
Use @BostonSportsTap or #AskOnTap